Sporting activities, such as mountain biking, off-road motorcycle riding, downhill skiing, snowmobiling, auto racing and hand gliding frequently involve covering considerable distances, at high speed and with constantly changing body positions. Many enthusiasts and participants in these sporting activities and other high-intensity sporting activities are intensely interested in their respective sports and often like to make and view video recordings of their participation in the sporting activity.
Traditionally, such recordings are made by a second party capturing the participant on tape with a video camera recorder unit which are well known and readily available. However, such a recording lacks the thrill factor experienced by the participant. Furthermore, the participant would usually rather record the activity from the perspective they experience while participating in the activity. That is, they want to record the sporting activity exactly as they saw, heard and felt it, as opposed to the perspective of another party viewing their performance. They can then use the video tape recording to improve their skills, reminisce and share their enthusiasm with family and friends.
Furthermore, a second party recording will normally include only the sounds and narration of the camera operator and would not include the voice of the participants or the sounds that they experience. Recordings are usually more interesting, memorable, and desirable to listen to when they capture the audio images of the activity as well as the video images.
Video tape recordings of events in which a participant may be involved are also available through some professional video production companies. For example, a ski resort may offer to film a skier as a memento of their trip. However, these recordings are also second person recordings and they do not capture the experience from the participant's point of view. Furthermore, smaller events and informal outings with friends do not warrant the attention of professional production companies and thus, to make a recording, the participant must find a person to hold and operate the camera equipment. If a person is alone in their participation, such as is often the case with motorcycle riding or skiing, they usually cannot capture the event on video tape, or digital recording means.
Additionally, the video camera recorders and commercial video equipment which are available for use by the general public are often inadequate for capturing the sporting activity because of the physical nature of the activity. For example, available equipment is cumbersome and in many cases is impossible to use while skiing or while operating a vehicle such as a snowmobile or motorcycle. Despite the inadequacies of video available equipment, many attempts are made in adapting available video equipment for capturing sporting activities on video tape. Skiers have tried to ski while holding, in their hands, a video recorder. This is not only dangerous, but also inadequate because the camera bounces around as the skier moves. The skier's performance is also hampered. Additionally, motorcyclists have tried to secure a video recorder to their motorcycle or to their helmet, but have not had much success in capturing the activity with stable, easily-viewed video images. Still further, snowmobilers have tried to affix a recorder behind the windshield of the snowmobile. Despite these efforts, the end results and the captured video images are still inadequate. As mentioned, these types of methods also hinder the participant's performance and have otherwise infringed on their enjoyment of the sporting activity.
Therefore, there is a need for a self-contained recording devices which allows complete freedom of movement while accurately tracking the line of sight of the user.
Several previous inventions have been directed to capturing video images while maintaining the participant's hands free to move and handle other activities. However, the prior art devices require additional equipment or specially modified equipment not normally worn by the participant.
In the prior art several techniques have been utilized to mount cameras in a fashion which allows them to follow the head movement of an individual in an attempt to synchronize the field of view of the camera with the field of view of the individual involved. These include attempts to produce video and film photograph of such intricate manual manipulations as surgical procedures and the like. One commonly used method for viewing surgical operations involves the use of one or more dolly-mounted cameras (including operators) and/or overhead-mounted remotely aimed and controlled cameras.
The art also contains many examples of head-mounted camera systems. A device of this nature is illustrated and described in a patent to P. P Dukich, R. L. LeChevalier and J. A. Volk, U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,475 issued Nov. 11, 1975. The invention disclosed in this patent includes a head-mounted camera system which includes remotely controlled focusing and aiming optics and a remotely aimed illumination system. The camera, optical focus, line of sight, plus all video control including monitoring and recording (if desired) and operated by a single operator at a remote control console which may be located outside the work area. The illumination system of that invention includes a cold illumination system (having separate sources such as fiber optic optical bundles) which are ridgedly attached to the head-attached camera unit. The mounting of the illuminators is such that both are bore-sighted to the camera line of sight so that the illumination system illuminates subject matter coincident with the field of view of the camera system. Thus, the location lighted by the illumination system is also controlled remotely with the aiming of the camera.
While that system has been successfully used in the past to produce excellent video results, it does suffer from certain limitations. Whereas the bore-sighted illumination system operated in conjunction with the remote focusing and aiming systems presents an advantage to the remote operator of the television camera system, the remote aiming of the illumination system has been found to interfere with the work of the surgeon or other wearer of the head-attached television system. A wearer accustomed to wearing a standard head-mounted illuminator such as is typically worn by surgeons tends to steer the light field to suit his needs by rotating and/or nodding his head slightly. When such a wearer uses a head-attached television, he likewise attempts to steer the light field by moving his head. The remote operator or controller of the head-attached television system, however, is at the same time attempting to remotely control the field of view of the camera and with it the light field. The position of the light desired by the surgeon and the remote controller often do not coincide. In fact, they may often be at odds. The wearer, although unconcerned with the remote camera operation, moves his head to center the light field as he desires. This also shifts the camera field of view and the remote controller reacts to re-center the camera field which also shifts the light field. This cycle may continue until the limit of remote adjustment is reached at which point the wearer can control the location of the illumination field. However, he generally will have to hold his head in an unusual and/or uncomfortable position and the remote operator is no longer able to properly center the action in the camera field of view.
Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,766 which discloses a camera mounted to the side of a frame which fits on a wearer's head. However, the device of the patent creates an off-center camera angle several inches to the right or left of the participant's line of sight. The camera mounting structure also must be worn on the head and would prevent the use of a helmet, which is a very undesirable situation in potentially dangerous sporting activities. The camera and mounting structures also create an unnatural weighted feeling to the side of the wearer's head. Still further, the camera equipment is left exposed to the elements creating a situation where by the equipment may be damaged. For instance the lens of the camera or the camera device itself may be broken by flying mud, rocks and related debris one encounters, such as while aggressively riding motorcycles in an off-road environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,157 which discloses an eyeglass in which a camera and viewfinder are combined is yet another example of known systems. Many participants in the aforementioned sporting activities are very particular about the type of equipment they use. This device forces them to use the specially formed glasses which are uncomfortable and may prevent the use of other necessary equipment. For instance, skiers generally wear sunglasses or double pane goggles, while motocross riders wear single pane goggles and an open-face helmet with a wrap around mouth guard or chin guard. Snowmobilers, on the other hand, do not wear goggles, but prefer a full face helmet with a mouth guard and a shield to serve the purpose of goggles. The glasses required would interfere with the use of this necessary equipment and also may interfere with the participant's vision.
In addition to the above, the art also contains a miniature video camera mounted, for example, on a skier's helmet. To date, micro video recorder sets are known to service—among other markets—the marketplace of law enforcement and public safety for purposes of incident surveillance, evidence recording, in-vehicle video for moving or stationary vehicles including police cruisers and/or helicopters. These have been termed “video incident” recorder sets by the industry. Video incident recorders are available with much variety among various products.
Therefore, there is a need for a video camera system for use in recording participation in a sporting activity, and particularly in recording the sporting activity participation from the perspective of the participant.
There is a more specific need for a video camera system that can be used without hindering the activity of the user's hands.
There is also a need for a camera that can record a sporting activity from the participant's perspective with adjustability in the system for capturing the activity in the line of sight of the participant.
There is a more specific need for a video camera system that can be used by a swimmer, a scuba diver or a snorkeler